The present invention relates to a wire harness fixing clip for fixing a wire harness distributed within an automobile to a car body or the like. In particular, the clip can accommodate wire harnesses of varying diameter.
JP 63-83923 describes a type of wire harness fixing clip, wherein a joining member of a pair of upper and lower plate members comprises a ring shaped frame through which a wire harness is passed, and wherein the fixing holes are provided on the pair of upper and lower plate members, a retaining member being passed therethrough to fix the clip to the fixture, as shown in FIGS. 12-14 of this application.
This clip 1 has a hook member 1c provided on one end (on the plate member 1a) of an open anterior end of a pair of upper and lower plate members 1a and 1b. The other end (on the plate member 1b) has a fixing member 1d which connects with the hook member 1c and comprises a frame shaped receiving member or the like.
In the case where the hook member 1c and the fixing member 1d are provided on the open ends of the pair of upper and lower plate members 1a and 1b, these upper and lower plate members 1a and 1b open out when a wire harness W/H is passed through a ring shaped frame 1e provided between the plate members 1a and 1b. At this juncture, lateral slippage can easily occur between the upper and lower plate members 1a and 1b, and as a consequence, the position of the hook member 1c may no longer correspond with the fixing member 1d. Thus the two may not easily connect. In particular, in the case where the outer diameter of the wire harness W/H is large, it is difficult to correct the lateral slippage. It is difficult to align the fixing holes 1f and 1g formed on the upper and lower plate members, and it is difficult to fix the clip to a car body panel or the like.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration, and aims to provide a wire harness fixing clip wherein upper and lower plate members can be positioned so as to correspond without lateral slippage irrespective of the width of the outer diameter of the wire harness, the fixing holes on the upper and lower plate members therefore being easily aligned, thereby allowing the clip to be fixed simply and reliably to a fixture.
According to the invention, there is provided a wire harness fixing clip comprising a ring-like frame having an axis and being adapted to receive an elongate wire harness along said axis, said clip having substantially planar ends adapted for overlying contact, said ends each having an aperture therethrough for receiving a fixing member, wherein one of said planar ends is provided with a latching member adapted to receive an edge of the other of said planar ends, said latching member being further adapted to extend over the other of said planar ends in the direction of said axis.
Preferably, the latching member is hook-like. The latching member may extend from a side of one of said planar ends, or from a surface thereof, for example, by punching out of a metal clip.
One or both of said apertures may be elongate in a direction perpendicular to said axis, in order to accommodate a variation in the wire harness diameter.
The latching member may engage a slot in the side of the other of said planar members, and the slot is preferably longer than the width of the locking member in order to allow for variation in the wire harness diameter.